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Some Tempe motorcycle officers now carry AR-15 rifles

A Tempe police officer carries an AR-15 on his ride March 27, 2018, at the department's headquarters. Nick Oza/The Republic

Tempe motorcycle officers add AR-15s to arsenal

A Tempe police officer carries an AR-15 on his ride March 27, 2018, at the department's headquarters.
Nick Oza/The Republic

Tempe motorcycle officers add AR-15s to arsenal

A Tempe motorcycle police officer shows an AR-15 on March 27, 2018, at police headquarters in Tempe. Sgt. Ronald Elcock has argued that adding the rear-mounted weapons will help keep the community safe. Nick Oza/The Republic

Tempe motorcycle officers add AR-15s to arsenal

A Tempe motorcycle police officer shows an AR-15 on March 27, 2018, at police headquarters in Tempe. Sgt. Ronald Elcock has argued that adding the rear-mounted weapons will help keep the community safe.
Nick Oza/The Republic

For the past six months, Tempe police have equipped some of their motorcycle officers with AR-15s, a semi-automatic rifle that has come under scrutiny after recent mass shootings across the country in which such a gun was used.

At least one law enforcement expert says carrying the weapons within public view creates a militaristic look that could send a chilling effect to the community.

However, Tempe police defended its practice, saying it is necessary for motorcycle officers to have the high-powered rifles because today's criminals can be equipped with military-style weapons, too.

The rifles, when carried by a motorcycle officer, are in plain view to the public.

While motorcycles officers having AR-15s mounted on their vehicles isn't new in Arizona, having them on full-display in a city such as Tempe could be concerning to some residents, said Tom Nolan, an associate professor of criminology at Merrimack College in Massachusetts.

"If I see police officers riding with machine guns then I'm going to think we have serious public safety problems in this community," he said.

Nolan, a 27-year veteran of the Boston Police Department, said the message the police department could be portraying is that officers want to "intimidate" the community.

"It creates a climate of fear," he said.

Tempe police Sgt. Ronald Elcock said the point of the policy is to keep the community safe.

"We know we’ve had those scenarios in the past where there is someone with a weapon similar to that one that we have to address," he said. "Our overall goal is keeping our community safe from harm. We do that in a number of ways, this is just another added resource."

Tempe police's motorcycle-mounted weapons drew national media attention after Valley news outlets reported on it this week. It also brought renewed attention on the issue of police departments becoming more militarized.

The idea came from Police Chief Sylvia Moir, who was chief at El Cerrito, Calif., before coming to Tempe in September 2016, Elcock said.

Elcock said some Tempe police officers who drive patrol carshave had AR-15 rifles in their trunks since about 2001.

Tempe Detective Lilian Duran, a department spokeswoman, said Tempe isn't the only police force in Arizona to have rifles mounted to their motorcycles. She said the Department of Public Safety also has a similar setup.

DPS officials could not immediately confirm the department's policy for motorcycle officers carrying AR-15s. Calls to Phoenix and Mesa police departments were not immediately returned.

lcock said the rifles are mounted and securely latched onto the motorcycle that it would be hard for just any bystander to be able to get the rifle off.

A Tempe motorcycle police officer shows an AR-15 on March 27, 2018, at police headquarters in Tempe. Sgt. Ronald Elcock has argued that adding the rear-mounted weapons will help keep the community safe.(Photo: Nick Oza/The Republic)

He declined to explain how the rifle is latched on because he didn't want to publicly disclose the mechanism out of fear that someone could attempt to get the weapon off.

"There are situations and suspects out there that have this type of firepower that we get called out to," Elcock said. "For us to go out to those situations with a handgun will not be an appropriate amount of firepower, if you will, to address that situation."

He could not provide any specific incidents in which a motorcycle officer armed with an AR-15 was involved since the policy took place.